Spreadsheet software or applications are relatively well-known and useful tools. Typical spreadsheet applications simulate physical spreadsheets by capturing, displaying, and manipulating data arranged in rows and columns. At the intersection of the columns and the rows are cells. Cells within spreadsheets can contain: a number, a string, an error value, a blank value, etc. Furthermore, cells may also contain formulas that can operate on data in other cells and display the results. These formulas empower the user to create calculations and business logic that helps the user exploit the data.
Another type of data presentation is provided by a PivotTable® style report developed by the MICROSOFT® CORPORATION of Redmond, Wash. A PivotTable® is a multi-dimensional presentation, or structured report, of the data that is included in a multi-dimensional database. These structured reports provide a user interface for viewing Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) data which are generally stored as multi-dimensional databases. OLAP services are an integral part of most data warehouse and business analysis systems. OLAP services provide for fast analysis of multidimensional information. For this purpose, OLAP services provide for multidimensional access and navigation of the data in an intuitive and natural way, providing a global view of data that can be “drilled down” into particular data of interest. Speed and response time are important attributes of OLAP services that allow users to browse and analyze data online in an efficient manner. Further, OLAP services typically provide analytical tools to rank, aggregate, and calculate lead and lag indicators for the data under analysis.
In OLAP, information is viewed in a multi-dimensional report conceptually as “cubes”. The cubes correspond to the multi-dimensional databases where the information is stored. Each multi-dimensional database may contain one or more cubes. Each cube is comprised of dimensions, levels, and measures. In this context, a dimension is a structural attribute of a cube that is a list of members of a similar type in the user's perception of the data. Typically, hierarchy levels are associated with each dimension. For example, a time dimension may have hierarchical levels consisting of days, weeks, months, and years, while a geography dimension may have levels of cities, states/provinces, and countries. Dimension members act as indices for identifying a particular cell or range of cells within a multi-dimensional array. Each cell contains a value, also referred to as a measure, or measurement.
Spreadsheets and their formulaic cells are different than the multi-dimensional presentations and their dimension members. Each of these data interfaces provide for advantages and disadvantages over the other.